Finding The Strength To Stand Again
by MissMinnie08
Summary: Sequel/songfic. When you break someone's heart...someone you love...how do you go on? How can you find the courage to fix things? Hinata tries to find the courage and strength to stand up for the boy she loves, the boy who's heart she broke. NaruHina.
1. Prologue

WARNING: Because this is a sequel fic, it is vital that you read the prequel. It's not very long. Go back to my profile, towards the end you will see a fic called Society's Child. It's not that great since it's one of my first attempts at writing, but it had important information that has a HUGE part of this story. So...for your own good, go read that now and come back to this one...unless you've already read Society's Child...in that case, please continue on with this story. Hope you like!

Prologue

"Naruto…what's wrong?" Tsunade asked quietly, staring at the depressed young man in her office. He had been this way for months now, and she had no idea what had triggered this sadness. He was acting worse than when Sasuke had left the village, she didn't think that Naruto could be so down hearted. Nothing worked in cheering him up. She tried lifting his spirits with some ramen, but that didn't work…and when that didn't work, she was at a loss of what to do. She hated seeing him like this, it was so out of character. _Well, maybe going on a long term mission will help bring up his spirits._

"Nothing Tsunade-obaa-chan." Naruto said, smiling up at her. Tsunade's eyes started to twitch…that had to be the worst fake smile she had ever seen.

"Well, hopefully a long term mission will help cheer you up." Tsunade said, looking at him closely.

"Sure. Maybe." Naruto replied in a monotone voice. He felt as if he were dead, as if his soul was destroyed and now he was just this empty husk.

"Well…it's a fairly simple mission." Tsunade started, grimacing at the fact that her idea had failed miserably. "It's a researching mission. The Mist are rumored to be gathering forces, and we're not sure for what. I need you to go there and see what is going on. If they're intending to start a war with us or anyone else." Naruto just nodded his head, his eyes plastered to the floor.

"Now as soon as your partner gets here, you can quickly brief her and then leave." Tsunade continued. Naruto looked up briefly.

"Her?" he asked, and no sooner had he asked that the office door opened to reveal his partner. Turning, his blue eyes widened while his breath was stolen from his body.

"Ah Hinata, you're finally here." Tsunade said cheerfully. Naruto's surprised eyes quickly turned ice cold as he turned to look away from the young woman who had not only broken but also shattered his heart.

Hinata bit her lip once Naruto had looked away. It had been a little over three months since she had last seen him, since she had last spoken to him, since she had lied to him. It had been a hundred torturous days since that dreadful time, and it felt as if it was just yesterday. The pain coming quickly to her non-existent heart. Why oh why was she going to be sent on a mission with him? She had been summoned to Tsunade's office, to get the information to her mission…so there would only be one reason why Naruto was here. She was going to be partnered up with him. Why must she keep this lie? How long can she keep living this lie?

Tsunade was glad that she had no yet had anything to drink today. If she had, she would have missed how the atmosphere from Naruto went from depressed to angry. _Why in the world would he be angry with Hinata? I thought that they were friends. And I know for a fact that Hinata loves Naruto…what's going on?_ She was beginning to feel that she had picked the wrong person to help cheer Naruto up.

"You wanted to see me Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked, her voice cool as she walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Tsunade quickly covered the shock she felt…now she definitely knew something was wrong. Since when did Hinata speak without her stutter? Since when did Hinata's voice sound so cold?

"Ah…yes. I uh…wanted you to go on a long term mission with Naruto." Tsunade said, feeling a little hesitant. What was going on between the two?

"We are to research the Mist and make sure that they aren't gathering forces against us." Naruto said in a voice that reminded Tsunade of Sasuke. How he spoke as if he didn't care, as if he felt nothing. He didn't even look at her, he just stared straight ahead. Hinata too, her eyes never moved to look at him. She didn't blush, she didn't stutter. All of this gave Tsunade a terrible headache.

"He's right. We are expecting you'll be gone for a few months." Tsunade said, forcing her mind back to the mission she was assigning them. Hinata cringed inwardly, being forced to be with him for a few months and pretend that she didn't love him? Seeing him every day and pretending that she was disgusted by him? How in the world would she be able to do that?!

"Unfortunately Hokage-sama, I must refuse." Hinata said quietly. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her. Being cold, and emotionless was one thing, defying her was another.

"My father has refused to have me anywhere near Uzumaki-san. And besides…I do not wish to be around him either." Hinata said, her cold voice shot icy shards into Naruto's already bleeding heart. His hands clenched into fists as he cursed himself a thousand times for ever believing her. For ever thinking that she was his friend. For ever falling in love with her.

"Well in the Hyuuga compounds you listen to your father, but you are a shinobi that works for me. And so is your father. So unless you want to find yourself unemployed, I suggest that you take this mission." Tsunade said in a hard voice. She didn't like this new Hinata.

"And I will write to your father explaining why you are with Naruto." Tsunade added. She didn't understand, what had caused this change in them? Hinata bowed deeply to her.

"Forgive me Hokage-sama. I will go." Hinata said, feeling herself dying inside again.

"Very well…aahhh…but you're disguises…" Tsunade said, feeling hesitant once again. "Unfortunately you cannot use your chakra the whole time to maintain an image of someone else. So you will need new identities…and unfortunately the only way you two can get in without causing suspicion…" Tsunade started to trail off, this was definitely a bad idea.

"What?" Naruto snapped, he definitely didn't want to be paired up with her but he had this terrible feeling that things were going to get even worse than they already are.

"Well…it was certainly nice knowing you Mr. and Mrs.Asamoto Hideaki." Tsunade said with an embarrassed laugh. Unfortunately it was dead silent in the room, making her laughter die a quick death.

"What!?" both Naruto and Hinata cried. Tsunade handed out two new identification cards and a set of wedding rings. They both grabbed theirs and looked at it with shock coursing through their bodies.

"Asamoto Hideaki." Naruto read aloud.

"Asamoto Yumi." Hinata read out loud too. Naruto suddenly slammed his hand down on Tsunade's desk.

"Are you freaking kidding me!? First of all, these are stupid tacky names! And then secondly, are you telling me that I have to pretend to be married to _her_!?" Naruto yelled angrily.

"Shut-up! You'll do what you're ordered!" Tsunade yelled back, completely offened. She had picked those names herself, she rather liked them. She did not appreciate him calling them stupid and tacky.

"Now put on the damn ring and get out of my office!" Tsunade screamed at him, losing her patience with all that's been going on. Naruto glared at her angrily, before quickly snatching up the ring and spinning around. He roughly grabbed Hinata's arm on his way out, half dragging her behind him. Once behind closed doors, Hianta snatched her arm away from him.

"Don't touch me." She hissed, rubbing her arm, his grasp had been tight and painful.

"Come on _wife_. We're leaving." Naruto growled as he once again grabbed her arm and started heading out the building.

"Let me go Uzumaki. I can walk myself." Hinata spat angrily, her arm was going numb from his tight grasp. Without a word, without a look, he released her as he continued walking at a fast pace. Hinata rubbed her arm as she sighed inwardly, this was going to be hell on earth.

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Jumping from branch to branch, Hinata was panting as she was struggling to keep up with Naruto. It had been like this for almost a week now. They hadn't spoken to each other the entire time, and when morning came Naruto would quickly take off. Ever since they left the village he had only said one thing to her.

_"Hurry up. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave, and the sooner I can get away from you."_

It had killed her to hear him say that, and what hurt even more, was knowing that it was all her fault. She was too weak to be with him, she wasn't strong enough to fight against everyone. To fight against her family. To fight with him. Hinata clutched her chest, feeling that sharp pain that stabbed her heart every time she thought about what she had done. It was so painful to live, it was so painful to look at him right now and deny herself one of the only things she's ever wanted in life. To force him to hate her. Naruto suddenly stopped and landed down on the ground. Following suit, Hinata dropped to the ground as well, confused but wary.

"We're nearly there…We should put on our disguises." Naruto said, not looking at her. He couldn't stand to look at her anymore. She wasn't who he thought she was. _How could I have been wrong about her for so many years?_ It pained him so much when he remembered what she really was like. He missed her, he missed her so much. His heart would ache, and breathing seemed to be difficult. And then he would hate himself for wanting her, for ever loving her. For letting her affect him like this.

"Okay." Was all she said, taking off her pack and looking inside. There were a few nice looking kimono's inside. Nothing too expensive, but they were still fancy looking. Walking around a large tree, she began to undress and pull on one of the kimono. Choosing a pale green with sakura flowers on it, she quickly got dressed and then slipped on the wedding ring. It was a simple gold band with a single diamond, but its simplicity was beautiful.

"Are you done?" Hinata called, her voice slightly losing its iciness.

"God damn stupid thing." Hinata heard Naruto curse to himself. Hinata blinked, wondering what he was talking about. Craning her head a little bit, she looked around the tree to find Naruto struggling to put on the kimono. He had the yukata part on, but was coming to pieces with the ties and obi. Hinata bit her lip to stop herself from smiling or laughing. She had to remember that she was supposed to hate him…and that he now hated her.

"Oh here let me. You would only take forever to figure it out." she said instead, walking around the tree and heading in his direction. Naruto narrowed his angry eyes at her.

"I don't need you're help." He growled, walking away from her.

"Yes you do. Now come here." Hinata said, outstretching her arms. Naruto bit the inside of his cheek from yelling at her. He had never put on a kimono before, he had never owned one. _At least she's now showing her true colors._ Naruto stood there with his arms crossed, refusing to look at her.

"Put your arms down, I can't do this with your arms crossed." Hinata told him, making him snicker as he kept his arms crossed.

"If you don't put your arms down then it'll take me longer to get it on. Which means you'll be with me longer." Hinata sneered, something she could never remember doing in her entire life. Naruto stopped snickering and quickly shot his arms down, swayed by her words. Hinata sighed and for once her mask slipped. Naruto looked down at her when she sighed, her pale face seemed so sad. Her pearl eyes looked lifeless as she wrapped the obi around him. She didn't smile, but she didn't look mad or cold…just sad. He was confused, why would she be sad? Naruto opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but then she pulled away.

"There." She said, but this time her voice was that cold voice again. Naruto immediately shut his mouth, cursing himself for still caring for her.

"Whatever let's go." he said emotionlessly, walking awkwardly in his new outfit. Upon arriving at the village gates, two Mist shinobi stopped them, as planned.

"Woah, hold up there! What business do you have with the Mist Village?" One of them asked, looking at the two. Naruto froze; they hadn't talked about a story of why they were here! What the hell was he supposed to say!?

"H-hello sir. I am Asamoto Yumi a-and this is my h-husband Asamoto Hideaki." Hinata said in her normal voice, bowing to the two ninjas. However the first one narrowed his eyes at them.

"You two are certainly young to be married." He commented. Hinata nodded her head in understanding.

"Y-yes…we ran a-away t-together…m-my family did not a-approve." Hinata said softly, her words stinging, hitting home. Naruto stepped closer to them, wanting to be apart of this conversation, but he slightly tripped over his kimono, stumbling slightly. The two Mist nins looked at each other.

"We can see why." The second one commented, looking at the demure flower before him and the clumsy nutcase behind her.

"So what brings you to the Mist Village?" the first one asked, now just curious.

"W-we need a p-place to live and somewhere t-to work." Hinata answered.

"May I see your IDs?" he asked. Hinata pulled hers from her obi and handed it over while Naruto searched through his pack for a few minutes, finding it at the bottom. The Mist shinobi looked at them carefully.

"It says here Asamoto-san that you're a chef? What do you cook?" he asked Naruto, slightly suspicious of him.

"Uhhh…" Naruto looked at him, clueless.

"Ramen." Hinata supplied, not even bearing Naruto a glance.

"Ramen?" the two shinobi asked, surprised.

"Yes, h-he use to cook in a r-ramen shop where we l-lived." Hinata said, smiling inwardly as she remembered how much Naruto loved ramen.

"Hhhmm yes, I guess I can see that." The first one said, studying Naruto for a few minutes before turning to look at Hinata.

"Whereas you, my dear, I'm sure, are as pretty as the flowers you sell." He said, handing back their IDs, on Hinata's saying that she worked in a flower shop.

"T-thank you." Hinata said softly, blushing slightly at the compliment. Naruto narrowed his eyes at them and quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He held her tightly to him as he glared at the two ninjas before him.

"May we go now?" he shot out, his blood boiling. The two chuckled at him, holding on to Hinata as if to get her away from their admiring eyes.

"Of course Asamoto-san…good luck to you and your pretty wife." The first one said bowing slightly, a smirk on his face. Without another word, Naruto walked past them, still holding tightly to Hinata. Her cheeks were a bright pink at being held in his arms again, her heart pounding quickly. Oh how she missed being in his arms, feeling his warmth envelope her. Hinata sighed inwardly, almost forgetting the months that they were apart. Almost. Once out of sight from the two shinobis at the gate, Naruto slightly shoved Hinata away from him.

"You're quite the little liar. You seemed to come up with those lies real easily." Naruto taunted, his blue eyes hard as he looked at her. Hinata's momentary contentment suddenly vanished, as her eyes were as white and cold as the snow.

"Well I had to say something, I very well couldn't leave it to you." Hinata sneered, hating herself all over again.

"Shut-up." He hissed, "I could have come up with something."

"Oh really? I bet you couldn't even remember your own alias." Hinata taunted. Naruto grit his teeth, she was sounding more and more like Sasuke. Always making him feel stupid.

"Well at least I could remember that we are supposed to be married. Unlike you, flirting with those guys." Naruto growled.

"What?" Hinata cried, totally caught off guard.

"Who's going to believe that we ran away together if you whore yourself off to other men?" Naruto asked, feeling his blood boil again remembering how those two men were looking at Hinata. Hinata's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open, never in her life had she been accused of flirting, let alone being called a whore. Numbness spread throughout her body as she fought desperately from crying. To have him, the boy she loved and admired call her a whore…it was as if he was ripping out her heart.

"Whatever, let's go." Naruto said, fed up with her silence. Grabbing her hand he pulled her along to find them a place to live.

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It was small. Terribly small. It was a sad excuse for an apartment. There was only one room that merged a tiny kitchen and a small bedroom with one bed. Then there was also a bathroom that matched the rest of the apartment with only a sink, and toilet. Hinata looked around the apartment, panic filling her. Where we they supposed to sleep? He wasn't expecting to sleep in the same bed as her was he? But there was nothing else that they could afford and find so quickly. Naruto looked at her, seeing her face burn a bright pink; he too looked around and came up with the same problem. It was bad enough that he had to pretend to be married to her and to live in the same apartment as her, but the share the same bed as her?!

"I'll just make another bed." He grumbled, heading to a tiny closet to look for extra sheets.

"Are you crazy?" Hinata hissed, her eyes shooting towards his. "They'll be watching us. Making sure we are who we said we were. We have to keep up pretenses." She whispered to him, unsure if anyone was spying on them and listening in on their conversation.

"You got to be out of your mind! There's no way I'm sleeping with you!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at her. Hinata looked around, suspicious, and then suddenly activated her bloodlimit. She could see a few Mist shinobi heading towards their apartment door, pressing their ears closely to the walls. She gasps as she realized that they were doing exactly as she had thought they would. Without thinking about the past, without thinking at all, she suddenly lunged towards Naruto her arms wrapping around his neck. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, her lips claiming his quickly. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked down at her in shock. Hinata pulled back slightly, her lips still brushing against his.

"There's a few shinobi spying on us, we need to fool them." She whispered against his lips as she tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Naruto heard her and understood what she had said, but her kiss was driving him to a distraction. His mind became fuzzy as her kiss drugged him. His heart raced and he found himself wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her tightly.

The feeling of her soft body in his arms again were too sweet for him to deny. He had missed her so much, his body craving hers, his soul needing her. His hands on her waist tightened, making her gasp slightly and when she did he took his opportunity. Darting his tongue into her mouth, he could feel her shiver in his arms as a soft moan escaped her lips. The sound of it made desire shoot through his veins, his tongue going deeper into her mouth, drinking her up, taking as much from her as he could. She tasted so good and smelled so wonderful he couldn't help but want her.

Naruto could feel her fingers begin to slide into his hair, caressing his scalp. Tearing his mouth away from hers, he found himself slowly lowering them onto the bed, his lips trailing down to her neck. Hearing her sigh and tilting her head to the side, giving him more access sent goosebumps along his skin. His tongue ran along her smooth skin, then raked his teeth against her neck. Hinata gasped at the feeling, her heart thundering in her chest as her body quivered under his.

"Naruto." She sighed his name, but upon hearing it, it broke the spell desire had woven for him. Stopping, he lifted his head up and looked at her.

"Are they still here?" he asked, his voice thick with a passion he was trying to cage.

"W-what?" Hinata asked, her eyes opening.

"Are they still here?" Naruto repeated, still on top of her. Hinata suddenly activated her bloodlimit again.

"No." she finally said. Naruto got up and off of her; his eyes that were once flaming with desire were now as cold as ice.

"I told you you were a whore." Naruto commented. Hinata's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what had happened. Her blood froze at his words. "Sure didn't take much either." Naruto continued until suddenly a sharp stinging pain shot across his cheek. He looked to Hianta, her eyes angry and full of tears that she was refusing to cry.

"I hate you Uzumaki Naruto!" she yelled before she ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Naruto slowly raised his hand to gently touch his still stinging cheek where she had slapped him. Tears of anger, of frustration, and of despair fell from his blue eyes. He knew he had hurt her deeply with his hateful words, and he felt horrible. But he couldn't help himself, she had hurt him so much, it was nearly impossible for him not to want to hurt her back.

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AN: YES! The long awaited sequel to Society's Child is finally here! Took long enough...like two years or something. Okay, I know that most of you probably never heard of that fic or even read it, but as you can see, this fic isn't going to make much sense unless you read that first. Like I stated at the top. If you haven't read it yet, GO READ IT! But please don't be too harsh with it, it was one of my first fics so it's not very good. Just read it so you know what's going on, you don't have to review for that one. But could you guys review for this one? I hope you stick with it, it took me forever to come up with a plot and now that I finally have one I just hope you guys like it. Anyways, please be nice, I'm still not good at writing NaruHina fics.


	2. All Good Things Must Come To An End

**UPDATE AS OF AUGUST 7TH, 2010  
**

I want to apologize to all my readers, either from the past, present, or future. As you have noticed, I haven't updated any story in a very very long time and I am sorry to say that, those stories that are not finished will never be finished. Writing fanfiction was a way for me to de-stress myself while in college and to distract myself from aspects of my life that I did not like. However, now that I've graduated, I no longer have that inspiration nor motivation to write anymore. I am very sorry. I was also tempted to delete and take down ALL my stories because of copycats out there that steal my credit, but I no longer care all that much anymore. So I decided to keep all the stories up for future readers to enjoy, or for those that (like me) enjoy re-reading. However if you do find another copycat, you don't have to notify me, but if you could let that person know that what they are doing is wrong, that's good enough for me.

If anyone would like to try and take on one of my unfinished stories and try to complete them, please do not hesitate to contact me. However, since my name will be connected to it, I warn you that I would like to see just how you write, and if I am satisfied, only then will I give you my story to complete. Again I am terribly sorry for abandoning all my wonderful readers. I love all of you that left me a review. Your encouraging words helped me in ways that you couldn't imagine. Though there were times when I felt completely alone and terribly lonely and absolutely pathetic, it's your review that helped me through the day. I shall never forget your kindness!

Thank you for the wonderful memories,

MissMinnie08


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